Why Bulletproof Vests For Paramedics Filled With Life-Saving Equipment Sat In Storage During Pulse Mass Shooting
The Orlando Fire Department had been working for years ahead of the Pulse nightclub shooting toward an innovative approach where specialized teams of medics, guarded by police officers and wearing specially designed bulletproof vests, would pull out victims before a shooter is caught or killed. But the plan sputtered out.
ProPublica/WMFE:
Orlando Paramedics Didn’t Go In To Save Victims Of The Pulse Shooting. Here’s Why.
Like many fire departments at the time, Orlando had long relied on a traditional protocol for mass shootings, in which paramedics stayed at a distance until an all-clear was given. The department had tasked Anibal Saez Jr., an assistant chief, with developing a new approach being adopted across the country: Specialized teams of medics, guarded by police officers and wearing specially designed bulletproof vests, would pull out victims before a shooter is caught or killed. ... None of that equipment was used at Pulse. (Aboraya, 9/26)
In more news on gun violence and safety —
Reuters:
Investors At Smith & Wesson Parent Support Call For Gun Safety Report
Investors at American Outdoor Brands Corp approved a call for the gun maker to produce a safety report, officials said during its annual meeting on Tuesday, marking a second win for religious activist shareholders focused on firearms makers after a series of mass shootings in the United States. The resolution, approved over the company's objections, asks its board to report by February on its efforts to monitor gun violence, to research and produce safer guns, and for an assessment of reputational and financial risks. (Kerber, 9/25)
The Associated Press:
Maryland Official Criticizes Gun Laws In Warehouse Shooting
A Maryland law enforcement official is criticizing gun laws in the wake of a shooting at a warehouse last week in which four people were killed and three people wounded. The Baltimore Sun reports Harford County Sheriff's Maj. William Davis told Aberdeen's mayor and city council members Monday 26-year-old Snochia Moseley had been diagnosed with acute schizophrenia, but answered "no" to whether she had been diagnosed with a mental illness when filling out paperwork to purchase a handgun. (9/25)
